Top MLB ATS Picks of the Weekend (June 11-12)

Top MLB ATS Picks of the Weekend (June 11-12)

Written by on June 10, 2016

There’s really no secret to baseball betting. If one team is starting a Cy Young candidate and the other isn’t, well, it’s not rocket science. Always take the better pitcher if all other things are equal. With that said, here are three MLB picks in online betting odds for the weekend.

Take a Look at the Top MLB ATS Picks of the Weekend (June 11-12)

Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves, Saturday

Looks like a total mismatch here and the Cubs will be huge betting favorites behind reigning NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, who looks to avoid his first losing streak as a Cub in over a year. Arrieta (9-1, 1.80) had his franchise-record streak end at 20 wins against the Diamondbacks last Sunday. He pitched five innings, allowing three runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out 12. Arrieta had been unbeatable during a historic run that placed him among the game’s best. The 20 consecutive winning decisions tied him with Roger Clemens (1998-99) for third-most in the majors since 1913. His streak stretched over 24 regular season starts since he took the loss in Cole Hamels’ no-hitter for Philadelphia at Wrigley Field on July 25. Atlanta goes with Matt Wisler (2-6, 3.98). Wisler was tagged for eight runs on nine hits in just four innings last Sunday against the Dodgers. He walked three and struck out five. Wisler’s streak of six consecutive quality starts came to an end in a big way. After a stellar May, in which he allowed just two home runs in 43 innings, the right-hander gave up three long balls in his first start of June. Cubs it is.

Miami Marlins at Arizona Diamondbacks, Saturday

The hottest pitcher in baseball right now isn’t Clayton Kershaw or Jake Arrieta or Noah Syndergaard but Miami’s Jose Fernandez. The Marlins’ 23-year-old hurler has an MLB-leading 110 strikeouts and a 13.26 K/9 rate after a dominating performance against Matt Harvey and the New York Mets last Sunday in which he had 14 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings. Fernandez has struck out 10 or more batters in four of his last six starts and has an eight-game win streak, matching Chris Hammond (1993) for longest in Marlins franchise history. Since April 28, when his streak started, his ERA is 1.38 with 78 strikeouts. Fernandez is the first pitcher since ERA became an official statistic to go five consecutive starts earning a win while allowing no more than one earned run and striking out at least nine batters in each outing. The last time Fernandez allowed more than one earned was in a win over Arizona on May 4 when Fernandez allowed three in five innings. Arizona’s pitcher is currently TBA but someone will be called up from the minors to make a spot start. It won’t matter. Go Marlins.

LA Dodgers at San Francisco Giants, Sunday

This is the ESPN Sunday night game of the week and will offer live online betting. The Giants will be slight favorites behind Jake Peavy. Peavy (2-6) pitched five innings, allowing four runs, five hits and two walks while striking out five in last Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals. The veteran entered the bottom of the sixth with a 3-1 lead, but gave up two doubles and a walk to the first three batters he faced. The Dodgers go with top pitching prospect Julio Urias (0-1, 6.94). The Dodgers asked the 19-year-old to make his major-league debut in New York against the reigning NL champion Mets then follow that up with a start against the best team in baseball, the Chicago Cubs, at Wrigley Field. Now after one start at Dodger Stadium — on Tuesday in which Urias struck out seven over four innings against the Colorado Rockies as the Dodgers won one of his starts for the first time — the Dodgers will shuffle their rotation in order to start Urias in San Francisco against the NL West-leading Giants. If the Dodgers kept in line with their original rotation, the next turn for Urias would have landed Monday in Arizona. The Mexico native has been held to a limit of 80-90 pitches in each outing as the Dodgers try to limit his innings this year. The stage will be too big for Urias again. Go Giants on betting lines.